Rainy, Rainy Portland

I once again had occasion to head to the West Coast last week, as I was attending a conference for work. As my dad has friends not far from there, he met me in Portland to further develop his babysitting (and diaper changing) skills. The hotel we stayed at was just a few blocks from the conference center, and pretty centrally-located (or so we were told) for downtown Portland. The room itself was probably the worst-arranged room I've ever stayed in, as there was about 2 feet of spare space once you got past the bed and the crib, but it was clean and there was free coffee. So obviously Dad and I were happy.

Angus was his typical happy-go-lucky self most of the time, and Dad's help was MUCH appreciated. Unfortunately, it rained for about 99.4% of the time we were there - and not just light, sprinkling rain...I'm talking DOWNPOURS - which put a damper (no pun intended) on our extracurricular activities. We did still manage to get out to a few good restaurants, however, and Dad frequented the nearby Starbucks "drive-through".

After my conference ended, we drove over to the Oregon coast for the day/night. After a brief stop at the Tillamook cheese/ice cream factory that I would prefer not to ever speak of again, we arrived in Pacific City, a scenic little town my parents have frequented in the past. While the weather still left much to be desired, we were able to walk on the beaches during a few precious lulls in the rain, and Angus showed his true adventurer spirit. Despite the wind, rain, and cold, that kid was smiling ear-to-ear the entire time. I think we have a little outdoorsman on our hands!

We won't talk about how early we went to bed (only because of Angus, of course), or how many "classic" movies my dad watched, or how much food I purchased for the one-day trip to and from the coast. But Angus was well-behaved, he and Grandpa got some quality one-on-one time, and we arrived back in DC late Sunday night in once piece. Can hardly ask for more than that!

Beautiful Oregon coast.

Pictures a bit out of order, but Angus jazzed up for the final leg of our trip (Chicago to DC).

He's a big fan of riding in shopping carts now. As evidenced by the legs.

Happy with Grandpa.

At lunch. An increasingly common face he makes - often accompanied by a whole lot of jabbering.

At a pizza place in Portland. It was absolutely pouring as we waited for the bus there. And it stopped, of course, once we were inside. Regardless, the pizza was very tasty!

Rainbow on the drive back from the coast.

Big strong Angus! Guess we're going to have to get this kid some shoes before too long.

That water bottle was his absolute favorite thing ever for a few days.

Angus and mommy.